Method and apparatus for remote interaction with and configuration of a wan-based knowledge base

ABSTRACT

A system for selling products and services over the Internet, or other wide area network, comprises a knowledge base and a knowledge base configurator both executing on a network-connected server hosted by the enterprise offering products and/or services. A GUI user interface application is downloaded from the server to any platform used by a client wishing to purchase products or services. Having downloaded the user interface, the client can manipulate the configurator over a data link between the client&#39;s station and the server to configure the knowledge base to define products and/or services to be orders, and can complete orders. A preferred implementation is with the server as an enterprise-hosted server connected to the Internet, and clients as users connected typically through Internet Service Providers to the Internet.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED DOCUMENTS

The present invention is a continuation in part (CIP) of applicationSer. No. 08/962,594 filed Oct. 31, 1997, entitled Method for Generatingand Updating Knowledge-Based Configurators that are Multi Platform andMulti Language Capable, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,049,822, which isincorporated herein in it's entirety by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is in the field of computer-aided sales andadvertising and has particular application to software applications forinteracting with and configuring knowledge bases presented on a widearea network (WAN) via a remote computer or shared network connection.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Computer-aided sales presentations wherein rules-based configurators areemployed have long been a valuable tool for allowing a customer orclient to configure his or her own order of a product or products. Thistechnique is employed in a network environment whereby a clientconfigures his or her order and sends it over the Internet, or anothertype of network, to a seller which can fill the order. For example, acomplex computer system has many different features, accessories,options, etc. With the appropriate software program, a client canconfigure his or her own custom order for a particular brand or type ofsystem. By employing an interactive method a client can apply certaindesired features in his product-order configuration that were chosenfrom options provided by a seller.

More recently, it is known to the inventor that object-oriented,constraint-based configurators have begun to replace rules-basedconfigurators by virtue of their more flexible organization. Forexample, rules-based configurators rely on set rules that are programmedin a procedural computer language. Partly for this reason, every changein the merchandise offered may require substantial changes in thesoftware, which can be quite a lot of work, considering the fast pace oftrade today.

Rules-based configurators are not physically separated from the actualknowledge data and the application for manipulating the knowledge data.Knowledge base configurators known to the inventor have such separation(an applet) therefore, the knowledge base can be changed easily via anediting process. The knowledge base applies the changes via linking toother elements of the process such as the object model.

Generally speaking, an object model representing a product, such as anew automobile, is created using a programming language within a modelbuilding application at the sellers end. This object model contains allof the descriptive elements and various features including costinformation about the object it represents. A model writer procedurethen writes a binary file, which is readable only to applicationswritten in the same environment.

These object models can then be presented to a client having theappropriate software application on the correct platform and using therequired language. The client can then enter his desired choices oroptions via interactive software. A configurator commonly known as arun-time engine insures that the client's choices are applied correctly.The configurator is also adapted to negate any conflict or impossibilitythat may arise from the client's directives.

A difficulty with the current state of the art, which has hampered fastdeployment of knowledge bases severely, is that although a knowledgebase is superior to a rules base as described above, the knowledge baseis language-dependent and not easily transferred across differentplatforms (i.e. IBM to Macintosh, or even Win 3.1 vs. Win 95). Forexample, a client would be required to operate in the same computerplatform and language to be able to interactively configure his desiredpurchase. This is a serious problem because it severely limits thetargeted on-line community that a seller may reach.

A knowledge base configuration process known to the inventor anddescribed with reference to the priority application to this CIPapplication as listed under the Cross-Reference to related documentssection above, effectively solves the above described problem related tolanguage and platform dependency. However, clients interacting withmodel-presenting companies must download both the knowledge base and theknowledge base configuration software in order to configure a product tohopefully reflect the desired specifications and features which areoffered.

A unique interaction topology for the network application describedabove is taught later in this specification with reference to FIG. 2.The advantage of this technique is that configuration is comparativelyswift because it is done locally (client side). A drawback is therequirement for downloading the knowledge base and any updates that maybe required including updates to the applet that configures theknowledge base.

It is desired by many clients who buy interactively over a WAN via theuse of knowledge bases, that software downloading be kept to a minimum,as it is time consuming and uses otherwise available computer memory.Moreover, since the first application communication speed for WANsystems like the Internet has improved dramatically. What is clearlyneeded is an executable interface that would allow a client to configurea knowledge base and transact an order with the company without beingrequired to download the knowledge base or software to configure theknowledge base.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention a method forconfiguring a knowledge-based object model located at a server platformfrom a client platform via a data network is provided, comprising stepsof (a) providing the object model and a configurator at the serverplatform; (b) transporting, from the server platform to the clientplatform, a GUI user-interface application capable of manipulating theconfigurator over the data network; and (c) invoking the GUIuser-interface application at the client platform by a client, and usingthe GUI user-interface application to configure the object model at theserver from the client platform. In some embodiments the GUIuser-interface application is a Java-based applet. Also, the serverplatform may be a first Internet-connected computer and the clientplatform is a second Internet-connected computer. The GUI user-interfaceapplication may also be a WEB-browser plug-in in some embodiments. Inmany cases the client platform connects to the Internet through anInternet Service Provider (ISP), the server platform is hosted by anenterprise, and the client uses the downloaded GUI user-interfaceapplication to configure the object model to select and order a productor service offered by the enterprise.

In another aspect of the invention a system for selling products andservices from a computerized server in a wide area network is provided,comprising a knowledge base stored at or accessible to the server; aconfigurator executable at the server platform to configure theknowledge base; and a GUI user-interface application capable ofmanipulating the configurator over the data network, executable on aclient platform connected to the server platform by a data link. In thisembodiment a client uses the GUI user-interface application over thedata link to manipulate the configurator to configure the knowledgebase.

Also in this embodiment of a system, the GUI user-interface applicationmay be a Java-based applet. The server platform can be a firstInternet-connected computer and the client platform a secondInternet-connected computer, in which case the GUI user-interfaceapplication may be a WEB browser plug-in. Preferably the client platformconnects to the Internet through an Internet Service Provider (ISP).Typically server platform is hosted by an enterprise, and the clientuses the downloaded GUI user-interface application to configure theobject model to select and order a product or service offered by theenterprise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure for a knowledge baseapplication according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating system architecture and clientinteraction with a WEB-based knowledge base according to an embodimentof the invention described in priority document Ser. No. 08/962,594.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating client interaction with aWEB-based knowledge base according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a knowledge base work flowapplication according to an embodiment of the present invention whereinboth knowledge base objects and GUI objects are generated and presentedto a client by an advertiser or seller of a product.

A knowledge base generator or model builder 101 is used at the sellersend to create a desired object model 102. As described briefly withreference to the background section, object model 102 contains all ofthe information related to the represented object or product such asdimensions, colors, styles, pricing and the like. Model builder 101 is asoftware tool known to the inventor in the art of generating knowledgebases.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention a programminglanguage such as Java or C+ is used in the building of object model 102.The reason for this is because these languages are relatively universaland usable among different platforms. It will be apparent to one withskill in the art that many different programming languages could be usedin creating object model 102 without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention such as Perl or Visual Basic. The languagesmentioned above are used in a preferred embodiment for reasons describedabove.

A unique and innovative method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention is initiated by using a model-converting writer 103 to writeobject model 102 into the form of a collection of human readable files.ASCII files. Such files are commonly referred to by those with skill inthe art as flat files, and are typically human readable and sensical. Aflat file 104 which is an ASCII file containing knowledge base objectsthat have been converted and written by model-converting writer 103 canbe transported to the client over the Internet or another type ofnetwork. Flat file 104 is an external media type file that can be readby a computer program or by a person. Therefore the recreation ormodification of the object models can be automated or manual. Also,communications across different platforms is sometimes “intransparent”,meaning only human readable files can be transferred. Other file types,such as binary files, can contain characters that would be interpretedby either entity (sending or receiving computer) as commands, includingsuch commands that can disrupt or terminate such communications.

Flat file 104 in an embodiment of the invention is used as a source fora GUI builder 111 in the process of building a GUI object model 112.GUI-object model 112 insures that there are graphical or visualrepresentations of the appropriate parts of object model 102. Using aconversion-model writer 113, GUI-object models are written into the formof a human-readable ASCII flat file along with some optional multimediafiles for filling in the GUI that can then be sent to a client.

The incorporation of a human readable, ASCII format into the knowledgebase process allows for the transporting of the associated informationacross different computer platforms as well as allowing for the use ofdiffering languages. This unique method utilizes known softwareapplications such as model-converting writers 103, and 113 and enhancesthem with the capability of converting the object models into flat filesas explained and taught above.

In FIG. 1, dotted line 110 represents a network transmission interface,such as transmission of files to a client via an Internet connection.

Those steps and processes appearing above line 110 are on the seller'sside, and those below are on the client's side. Presumably, in the caseof the Internet, the client has accessed the seller's Internet site, andis capable of downloading selected information. Whether or not theinformation downloaded is useful to the client is an issue addressed bythe present invention.

At the client's end, a reader application 123 reads the flat filesdownloaded from the advertiser's site and rebuilds these files intoobjects for a knowledge-based configurator known in the art as arun-time engine 121. Run-time engine 121 converts flat files 104 and 114back into knowledge base objects 122 and GUI objects 132 which are thesame as object models 102 and 104. For example, if the same programminglanguage and environment is used in run-time engine 121 as in modelbuilder 101, then knowledge base 122 will be identical to object model102 both binaurally and descriptively. The same relationship can beconcluded with regards to GUI objects 132 and object model 112. If adifferent language and environment is used in run-time generator 121that that used in model builder 101, then the files are not binaurallyidentical, but will accurately describe the same object.

A process of the present invention as described above could be used toup-date configurator systems such as run-time engine 121. Editing orchanging rules could be done from within the knowledge base instead offrom within the object model via the addition of a reader that reads theflat file back into object model 102.

Method and Apparatus for Remote Client to Knowledge Base Interaction

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a methodand apparatus is provided wherein a client may interact with andconfigure a knowledge base without downloading the knowledge base orsoftware used to manipulate the knowledge base.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating client interaction with aWEB-based knowledge base according to an embodiment of the inventiondescribed and claimed in application Ser. No. 08/962,594. In order toenable an adequate explanation of the present invention, the inventorhas chosen to first illustrate a network topology that is consistentwith the priority application listed under the Cross-Reference toRelated Documents above.

According to the prior embodiment, a unique method was taught for clientinteraction with WAN-based knowledge bases that is adapted to save theclient time and resources when configuring a product or service fororder. The topology as illustrated herein with reference to FIG. 2comprises a client 133 that is connected to a wide area network (WAN)135, such as the Internet, via a remote network connection 134, such asa typical Internet connection known in the art. The method of connectionmay also, in some embodiments, be that of a shared network connectionsuch as may be the case of a smaller local area network (LAN) connectedto WAN 135.

WAN 135 may be the Internet, an Intranet, or another type of WAN knownin the art. Client 133 has a personal computer (PC) 136 having thecapability and equipment to enable the above described connection to WAN135 as known in the art. WAN 135 comprises a server 137 adapted to serveand receive data to and from PC 136 at the location of client 133. Fileserver 137 is typically hosted by an enterprise engaged in sellingproducts to clients such as 133 over WAN 135, as is consistent with themethod taught with respect to the priority application. A database 143is illustrated as being connected to file server 137 as is known in theart of server/database relationships as practiced on a WAN.

A knowledge base 139 is resident in server 137, or accessible fromdatabase 143, along with an applet 141 adapted to manipulate andconfigure knowledge base 139. The configuration of knowledge base 139 isdefined, for the purpose of clarity, as selecting the desired optionsrelating to color, model number, optional accessories, and the like, asmay be offered as interactive options in the knowledge base representingthe product.

Knowledge base 139 is analogous to components 104 and 114 as listedabove line 110 (seller's end) in FIG. 1 of the priority application.Knowledge base 139 as such is also illustrated logically as downloadedto PC 136 at the location of client 133 as indicated via directionalarrow K. At PC 136, knowledge base 139 is analogous to elements 122 (KBObjects) and element 132 (GUI Objects) as illustrated below line 110(client's side) of FIG. 1.

It will be apparent to one with skill in the art that there may be manymore than one knowledge base and associated applet available from server137 without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. However, the inventor chooses to illustrate only oneknowledge base and one applet in order to simplify explanation of thepresent invention.

Applet 141 is analogous to Reader 123 and Run-Time Engine 121 asillustrated below line 110 (client's end) in FIG. 1. Applet 141 is alsoillustrated as downloaded to PC 136 as was described above withreference to knowledge base 139. The download is illustrated viadirectional arrow A. In this way, client 133 may configure his productoff-line via use of the downloaded components. For example, applet 141is used as a tool to configure knowledge base 139 as illustrated viabidirectional arrow placed between the two components. Once his productis configured, client 133 may go on-line (connect to WAN 135) and uploada finished order to server 137 which may in turn communicate withdatabase 143 and relay information back to client 133. Database 143typically contains data related to the products provided by the companypresenting the knowledge bases and may also contain additionalinformation such as shipping dates, product status, product updates,applet updates and so on.

Working off-line allows client 133 to configure knowledge base 139 athis leisure and allows him to place an order for the configured productat any desired time. In this case, ASCII files (flat files) along withoptional multimedia files as described with reference to FIG. I are sentin the download of knowledge base 139 as represented by arrow K. Thisallows for differences in computer platform and languages to be utilizedon the same network-interaction topology. While this unique topology andmethod provides distinct advantages to client 133, he still mustdownload applet 141 and knowledge base 139 in order to configure andplace his order. This could be an issue if he is using someone else'scomputer, for example, wherein downloading components is not desired orapproved by the owner. Similarly, he may be sharing a common system withseveral users with policy governing the system discouraging orforbidding such purchasing wherein significant downloading is required.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a uniqueapplet is provided and adapted to function as a controller formanipulating an applet such as applet 141 of FIG. 2 to configure aknowledge base such as knowledge base 139 of FIG. 2. This innovativeapplet gives a client complete control over the configuration of hisproduct and transaction of his order.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating architecture and clientinteraction with a WEB-based knowledge base according to an embodimentof the present invention. In order to avoid redundancy elements oftopology and components that are not new to the invention will not bereintroduced and retain their same element numbers.

The network topology of FIG. 3 is essentially the same as the networktopology illustrated with reference to FIG. 2. For example, client 133is connected via remote connection 134 to server 137, which in turn isconnected to database 143 as was described with reference to FIG. 2.

However, a difference exists in the way that the client interacts withknowledge base 139 and applet 141.

A graphical user interface (GUI) applet 145 is provided and adapted tocommunicate and exert control over applet 141 which in turn enables theconfiguration of knowledge base 139. GUI 145 is, in this embodiment, aJava-based applet which is capable of being executed on different kindsof platforms. In alternate embodiments, GUI 145 may be COM model, orActive-X™. As a Java GUI, applet 145 is adapted to send and receive dataas both text and graphics. Similar to a software control panel, a clientsuch as client 133 uses GUI 145 to instruct applet 141 to make thedesired selections required with respect to knowledge base 139 in orderfor a successful product order to be realized.

In this embodiment, GUI 145 is the only component that must bedownloaded to PC 136 as illustrated via directional arrow G representingsuch download. As a control interface, GUI 145 contains only theappropriate control codes and display capability for requiredinteraction. For example, commands may be sent to applet 141 to executedesired selections, while displayable results of such selections appearin a display window or dialog box associated with GUI 145. This allowsGUI 145 to remain very small in overall data size, therefore, largelyreducing any download requirements that otherwise may be presented.

GUI 145 may be in the form of a WEB-browser plug-in. As a Java enabledplug-in, GUI 145 may be capable of transmitting and receiving audio,audio/video, text and graphics, or any other supported media. In oneembodiment, GUI 145 may be embedded in a WEB form downloaded by client133 from the company selling the products.

GUI 145 has the ability to communicate with applet 141 as illustratedvia directional arrow C. Communication between GUI 145 and applet 141 inserver 137 is such that knowledge base options may be viewed, andselections may be made wherein upon making a selection, viewable resultsof the selection are presented in a GUI-associated display or window.GUI 145 may contain application program interfaces (API's) adapted toinvoke installed readers, viewers, players, and such as may be requiredto disseminate audio or graphic content. In one embodiment, the requiredor selected viewing capability is supplied with GUI 145.

The unique method of providing a GUI as an interface produces an optionwherein a client need not perform any significant downloading in orderto configure and present an order to a company. The completeconfiguration and transaction of an order takes place on-line. Updatesto client software are minimized as only GUI updates are required whensignificant editing is done to an existing GUI. Such updates may bedelivered to a client via push technology such as e-mail, or offered tothe client in the form of an interactive update button. One example of aGUI update may be that a new media is supported. Code enabling the mediamay be sent as an executable and configure itself to the existing GUIcode.

With the use of GUI 145, a client such as client 133 cannot nowconfigure his product off-line and send an order whenever he decides.However, this disadvantage is substantially off-set by the fact thatdownloading is at a minimum. In many cases, configuring and ordering aproduct on-line with GUI 145 will be faster than downloading componentsthat would be required when performing the same task without GUI 145.

Of course, this will depend on the size and complication of thedownloaded knowledge base and associated controls.

After configuring a knowledge base such as knowledge base 139, GUI 145may act as an interface to database 143 through applet 141. For example,the actual transaction of the order, confirmation of the receipt of theorder and any added information such as real-time status, any conflictinformation such as might cause delay in shipment, and so on, may berelayed to client 133 via applet 141 and GUI 145.

It will be apparent to one with skill in the art that an applet such asGUI applet 145 may be created supporting varying media types as may beoffered in a presentation or product promotion and that such media typesmay be already installed on PC 136 and invoked by GUI 145, or beprovided in their entirety as viewers within GUI 145.

It will also be apparent to one with skill in the art that the use ofASCII files as illustrated with regards to FIG. 1 (P3501PA) may bepracticed on the sellers side if more than one computer language orplatform is evident among several systems connected to the sellersnetwork. With the provision of GUI 145, a client such as client 133 willnot be required to work with ASCII files.

It will be apparent to one with skill in the art that a method of thepresent invention such as described with reference to FIG. 1 could use avariety of different programming languages as known in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It willalso be apparent to one with skill in the art that the method of thepresent invention may be adapted to be transported across a variety ofknown computer platforms without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention. For example a client using a windows operatingsystem may download and configure ASCII files that were generated in aUNIX environment and so on.

The spirit and scope of the present invention is limited only by theclaims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for selling a product or service overthe Internet, comprising steps of: (a) providing an object model at aserver platform the object model defining optional features for theproduct or service, and also providing a configurator for the objectmodel at the server platform; (b) responding to a client request forservice from a client platform by transporting, from the server platformto the client platform, a graphical user-interface (GUI) user-interfaceapplication capable of remotely manipulating the configurator over theInternet; (c) invoking the GUI user-interface application at the clientplatform by a client, and using the GUI user-interface application tocommand the configurator at the server via the Internet to configure theobject model at the server from the client platform, enabling the clientto select among the multiple features of the product or service forpurchase; (d) configuring the object model according to the selectionsof the client; and (e) viewing the final configuration and ordering theconfigured product or service by the client over the Internet.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the GUI user-interface application is aJava-based applet.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the GUIuser-interface application is a WEB-browser plug-in.
 4. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the client platform connects to the Internet through anInternet Service Provider (ISP).
 5. A system for selling products andservices from a computerized server in the Internet network, comprising:a knowledge base stored at or accessible to the server, the knowledgebase providing multiple versions of a product or service offered by anenterprise hosting the server, including at least one of color, size,model number, or optional features for the product or service; aconfigurator executing at the server platform to configure the knowledgebase; a GUI user-interface application operating from a client platformcapable of manipulating the configurator over the Internet networkconnected to the server platform by an Internet link; wherein a clientuses the GUI user-interface application over the data link to manipulatethe configurator to configure the knowledge base at the server platform,selecting the individual one of the multiple version of the product orservice desired by the client including at least one of color, size,model number, or optional accessories for the product, the client thenviewing the configured knowledge base and placing an order for theselected product or service.
 6. The system of claim 5 wherein the GUIuser-interface application is a Java-based applet.
 7. The system ofclaim 5 wherein the GUI user-interface application is a WEB browserplug-in.
 8. The system of claim 5 wherein the client platform connectsto the Internet through an Internet Service Provider (ISP).